Movie Review: Chitchor (Heart Stealer) (1976)

Chit Chor is an old fashioned love story; the kind carried out under the kindly and benign eyes of the elders. The non-aggressive kind that frequently reflects real life. Amol Palekar in his time got to act in some excellent niche Hindi films, mainly comedies and quite of few of those were directed by Basu Chatterji. For any Hindi film afficianado, it is a must to wade through some films that BC directed: Choti Si Baat, Khatta Meetha, Baton Baton Mein and Chitchor. These do deviate from the standard Hindi film formulaic films in that the sex (or pseudo-sex and sexual innuendos) and violence are minimal or absent and the realism quotient higher. But of course, the songs cant be done away with, can it?

So to come back to this movie. Its a charmingly told love story (well, of the Indian kind). Built on a very simple premise really. Set in a village, a family (the headmaster (AK Hangal), his wife (Dina Pathak) and of-age daughter (Zarina Wahab)) awaits the arrival of a stranger who is a prospect for their marriageable daughter. In a case of mistaken identity, the arrival of the stranger (Vijayendra) is delayed. His assistant (Amol Palekar) arrives instead and is mistaken for Vijayendra. There follow a few weeks of bliss when the family wooes AP and he in turn wooes the initially recalcitrant ZW. But alas, the headmaster and his wife soon learn of the reality on the arrival of the correct gentleman and they then try to rectify the wrong. But is it too late by then? That’s what the movie is about.

The actors who play the main characters are chosen well and provide a strong backbone to the movie. Amol Palekar as the orphaned young man earnestly in search of love, Zarina as the young girl not even understanding enough to curb her tomboyish acts, Master Raju as Zarina’s ally and neighbourhood kid, AK Hangal and Dina Pathak as the typical Indian parents wishing well for their daughter and Vijayendra as the upwardly mobile and eligible bachelor. All these actors do their job well and are aided in no small measure by the speed at which the script unfolds and the excellent songs (in terms of music as well as lyrics) interspersed in the movie. The romance unfolds at just the right speed. Among Hindi films such a kind of film is a rarity and one must thank Basu Chatterji for his genre of movies.

Watch it for the gentle chemistry between Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab (one of the few Muslim actresses in Hindi films). AP incidently is an actor who professed that he turned to acting out of necessity and that direction was always his first love. Sure enough he turned to direction later on, directly many films in the Marathi language and also the Shahrukh Khan-Rani Mukherji starrer ‘Paheli’. His approach to acting might seem a bit studious and structured (just like his dialogue delivery) but then it might be because hindi is his second language. Zarina Wahab portrays very effectively the transformation of the frivolous girl to a maturing woman. Watch it also for them and for the bygone era in Hindi films

So to come to the songs: all of them excellent in terms of music, melody, voice and simplicity of lyrics and also they way they gel-in with the flow of the movie. Especially recommended for some great vocals by Yesudas. A special word of appreciation to the blind (visually handicapped) Ravindra Jain who takes credit for the lyrics and music of this film. All the songs would rate high on any list of top Hindi film songs and are remembered by Hindi film afficianados to this day. And that says a lot especially when you can hardly remember a song of note in the Hindi films of the past 15-20 years.

Gori tera gaon bada pyara (young lady, your village is very charming)

…….is when AP first starts wooing ZW by singing to her

Aaj Se Pehle, Aaj Se Jyada Khushi aaj tak nahi mili (I never experienced such happiness and in such measure prior to this)

…….is when the 2 bachelors and ZW go on a picnic and AP is forming plans in his mind for the forthcoming marriage

Tu Jo mere Sur Mein Sur Milale (When you merge your tune into mine)

Is a post dinner sing-a-song when the master (AP) and the student (ZW) demonstrate their talent to the elders

Jab Deep jale Aana (Come when the lights are lit at twilight)

The hindi lyrics of the songs are available at http://www.hindilyrix.com/songs/get_movie_song_CHITCHOR.html

Movies with a throwback to the good old times always makes me nostalgic. When……

when mothers used to knot the long hair of their daughters,

when characters wore everyday clothes and not Manish Malhotra creations,

when low budget constraints were more then compensated by the sheer talent and passion of the actors and the strength of the script and dialogues,

when characters still retained their earthiness and didn’t look like the mass manufactured clones out of Roshan Taneja acting schools,

where cosmopolitanism had not yet stomped over regional bearing,

when characters believed in the gods and goddesses and you believed that they believed,

when film-makers took pride in telling simple stories too

when child characters were still middle-class in looks and behaviour and the metrosexual brand-conscious kid was not yet born

when only 3 brands and models of cars roamed the indian streets

when you felt a warmth envelop you when watching Amol Palekar movies

when picnics were relaxed affairs in the company of one’s own people

Credits

Rajshri Productions present

Starring

Amol Plekar

Zarina Wahab

Vijayendra

A.K.Hangal

Dina Pathak

Story: Subodh Ghosh

Cinematography: K.K.Mahajan

Editing: Mukhtar Ahmed

Playback: Yesudas and Hemlata

Lyrics and Music: Ravindra Jain

Produced: Tarachand Barjatya

Screenplay, Dialogue and Direction: Basu Chatterji